After performing his brand of true-to-life, dark, angry stand-up for more than two decades, Christopher Titus recently found himself to be in a happy place. This terrified him.

Titus has famously turned some of his most personal and tragic stories â" such as his fatherâs multiple failed relationships, heavy drinking and heart attack that caused his death, as well as his motherâs battle with alcoholism and suicide â" into a full-time comedy career. Heâs tackled depression, domestic abuse and his own divorce in 2006 from his wife of 15 years.

How can any of this possibly be funny? The magic in Titusâ act is that heâs triumphantly survived it all. Heâs just twisted and clever enough to find the humor within some of these horrid circumstances, which has resonated with audiences that are also experiencing not-so-perfect lives. After wrapping up the tour for his fifth special, âThe Voice in My Head,â last year, Titus says he was looking to finally close those chapters of his life.

âThings just got better,â the 49-year-old says during a recent phone interview. âI married an amazing woman (Rachel Bradley, in August 2013) and I realized that things were going pretty damn good. I got really scared because I thought, âHow am I going to write comedy when things are going so well?â I just knew I couldnât stop being me and that everything is still going to (make me mad), which, Iâm telling you, is a good thing.â

Titus went on to write his next 90-minute show, âAngry Pursuit of Happiness,â which he brings to the Ontario Improv this week. In it, he shares his thoughts on the new pope, continuing terrorism and he takes a few lines from the Declaration of Independence directly to heart.

âIt says ââ¦ life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,ââ he recites. âIt doesnât say, âBe happy.ââ It just says to pursue it. You go after that happiness. Track it down, punch it in the face, choke it out and take that happiness! Itâs an aggressive way to live. My dogs, they donât need to pursue any happiness. Itâs right here in front of them. Iâm just trying to find the happiness of my Yorkies, pretty much. This show â¦ I think this is by far the best writing Iâve ever done.â

After years of doing stand-up on the road, Titus put his heart and soul into his first one-man show, âNorman Rockwell is Bleeding,â in 2004. At that point, he considered that body of work to be his last real shot. He had done plenty of other things, including writing, producing and starring in his own Fox sitcom, âTitus,â for three seasons until it was canceled in 2002, but comedy was his passion. âNorman Rockwellâ needed to be a success.

âI just ended up saying exactly what I wanted to say, exactly how I wanted to say it,â he recalls. âIf people wouldnât have liked it, I guess Iâd be back working on cars in a body shop. But, it actually worked.â

He continued to tour, packing comedy clubs across the country and churning out four more 90-minute runs over the next eight years. He started his own weekly podcast, available on his official website, in 2011. Heâs also been tying up the loose ends on his first independent film, titled âSpecial Unit.â

The movie stars Titus as a dirty Los Angeles cop, who â" due to disability discrimination laws â" is forced to head up a team of four disabled undercover detectives. After talking with his longtime friend Michael Aronin, a comic with cerebral palsy, Titus decided to cast more of his funny friends with disabilities in his cop comedy including âLast Comic Standingâ winner Josh Blue, who also has cerebral palsy, and Fullertonâs own Brad Williams, who has achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism.

âShow business is really great about giving these guys lip service,â Titus says. âIn my movie, these guys (Williams, Blue and Aronin), they arenât playing the funny sidekick or some guy in the background, theyâre out there and theyâre kicking ass and itâs really funny.â

Though âAngry Pursuit of Happinessâ is still fresh, heâs already thinking about his next show. Heâs inspired by comedic legends such as the late George Carlin â" who had released over 20 albums and debuted fistfuls of comedy specials in his career â" to continue to write and perform fresh content for audiences. He also got a boost from one of his music idols, Bruce Springsteen, after briefly hanging out with the Boss after a show.

âI never want to hold on to the same act for seven or nine years and there are some guys that do that â" Iâd never do that to an audience. Itâs not like going to see Bruce Springsteen. Iâve seen him a bunch of times and each time he plays âThunder Roadâ and Iâm always happy, but you canât hear me tell my same âDad is drinkingâ story 35 times.â

When he met Springsteen, Titus asked the 64-year-old rocker simply, âHow do you do it?â

âHe goes, âMan, I donât know how to do it any other way.â Is that perfect or what?â

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